Jake and Neytiri  Addendum
by 931J
Summary: This is a conversation between Jake and Neytiri that I would have liked to have seen in the movie. It helps bridge the gap between Neytiri reluctantly respecting him to Neytiri starting to develop feelings for him.


JAKE AND NEYTIRI - ADDENDUM

This conversation between Jake and Neytiri is not a part of the current fanfic I have posted. It is just something that I feel should have been in the movie or at least in the script...

Jake, as we all know, is a tortured soul at the beginning of the movie... he's seen and done terrible things in his military career. He's bound to a wheelchair, and his brother was just killed. But I would like to offer this theory... I believe in a lot of ways that Neytiri, too, is a tortured soul. Here's why... She lives in a time where her planet, her home are being destroyed by the RDA, her sister was killed right in front of her, and most of all, she is being forced to mate with someone that she does not love.

Now some people may disagree with that last statement but I am thoroughly convinced of it. I believe she cared for Tsu'Tey, was fond of him, was good friends with him, but she was not in love with him. Neytiri fell in love with Jake for alot of reasons. I believe that one of these is because Jake " saw " her in a way that no Omaticaya did. I believe that some Omaticaya may have known Neytiri did not love Tsu'Tey, but still expected her, out of tradition, to mate with him ( in an interview, Zoe Saldana said that Neytiri was faced with two choices, either do what was expected of her or follow her heart ).

I believe that at some point Jake realized that Neytiri was not in love with Tsu'Tey and sympathized with her, something that no Omaticaya had or would do. This could have easily been a starting point for when Neytiri saw Jake in a new light and maybe even started to become attracted to him.

Anyways, I've come up with a little dialogue between the two of them on this same topic. This conversation takes place a few weeks after Jake has been training with her, and she is grudgingly starting to respect him...

The night air is warm as Jake makes his way toward Neytiri. She is sitting on a tree stump sharpening her knife. As he gets closer, she looks up at him.

" May I join you?" he asks

She smiles and motions to a tree stump next to her.

" Please sit," she says.

Jake sits and watches her sharpen her knife for a moment. He then looks up into the night sky.

" Beautiful night isn't it?" he says.

" Yes it is," Neytiri replies without taking her eyes off of what she is doing.

looks back at her for a moment before his attention is drawn to the sound of laughter. He looks to his right and sees a male and female Na'vi walking hand in hand, conversing and laughing. They are obviously enjoying eachothers company.

" They seem pretty happy," Jake says.

Neytiri looks at the two Na'vi and smiles.

" That is because they are in love," she replies. " Very soon they will mate, and then they will be a mated pair for life. It is our way."

Jake smiles at the thought, then turns back to Neytiri.

" Speaking of being mated for life, I understand you and Tsu'Tey are to someday be mated for life."

Neytiri stops what she is doing for a moment. She looks at Jake, looks at the ground, then back at her knife before replying.

" That is correct." Her voice is emotionless.

Jake picks up on it.

" You don't seem to be very happy about that," he says.

Neytiri quickly looks at him." Do not pretend to think that you know anything about me," she says, somewhat annoyed.

Jake presses her a little.

" You don't love him, do you?" he asks.

Neytiri points her knife at Jake, upset at his boldness."

That is none of you business," she says..

Jake puts up his hands.

" I'm sorry, I did not mean to pry."

Neytiri calms down and nods her acceptance of his apology, before turning back to her knife sharpening.

Jake, though, not one to back down when he wants an answer to something, leans in closer to her and asks again...

" But you don't love him, do you?"

Neytiri flashes an angry look at Jake. Jake, however, does not back down this time, and he meets her stare. Neytiri, realizing that Jake is not going to give up, relents. She sighs deeply before saying...

" What I am about to tell you, you can tell no one else."

Jake nods his head.

" I promise I won't tell.

"Neytiri sighs again before continuing...

" Me and Tsu'Tey grew up together. He is my friend, and I care deeply for him..." her voice trails off before continuing..." But I do not love him. I have tried... but... my heart will not allow it."

She continues sadly, " But me and Tsu'Tey mating for life, is what my people want."

" And what do _**you**_ want?" Jake asks.

Neytiri looks at him.

" To be free," she says. " Free, to live life the way that _**I**_ choose to live it. Free, to choose my own mate. Free, to choose the man that I get to spend the rest of my life with... that is what I want."

She continues sadly...

" But I am an Omaticaya princess, and I must do what is best for my people. You are new to our ways, I do not expect you to understand."

Jake looks at Neytiri for a long moment. Then says...

" I may be new to your ways, but I understand enough to know that if you spend the rest of your life with someone out of a sense of duty, instead of out of love, there can be no happiness.

"Neytiri looks up at him as he continues...

" And you're right, I don't know you very well. But I have seen enough to know that you are a free spriit. And that your smile and your laughter are both beautiful."

Neytiri continues to look at him, surprised by what she is hearing. Jake continues...

" But if you become mated for life with Tsu'Tey, your smile and your laughter will both die, and there will always be a part of you that feels like you are living in a prison."

Neytiri just stares at Jake in amazement, not knowing what to say. He had just seen right through her, right into her thoughts. She had been in silent agony over her situation, and nobody saw it, nobody cared. But yet here was this human, this dreamwalker who seemingly understood her better than any of her people.

Jake knows he has hit a chord with her, and decides to leave it at that. He stands up, shoulders his bow and says...

" I'll see you in the morning."

He then turns and walks away.

Neytiri just stares at his back, dumbfounded. She looks at the ground for a moment and then back up at Jake. She suddenly feels a very strange feeling come over her as she watches him. A feeling of...longing. She looks back down at the ground, puts her head in her hands and closes her eyes, more confused now than ever.

Written by 931J

Thank you for taking the time to read this short piece. If you enjoyed it, please feel free to read my full length fanfic entitled " Rise of the Wolf Clan " which I am now posting here on . Cheers!


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